– Sebastien Ogier has publicly apologized to FIA President Mohammed Bin Sulayem and Paraguay’s President Santiago Pena for an “inappropriate incident.” The nine-time and current World Rally Champion published a statement on social media in which he apologizes for his concerns expressed during the Rally Paraguay.
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FIA President Bin Sulayem was present at the Rally Paraguay as was President Pena, to introduce the new holders of the commercial rights of the WRC at a press conference on Saturday. It is unclear what exactly Ogier said in the conversation with the two. The fact is: The nine-time world champion was particularly upset and complained about WRC tire supplier Hankook over the weekend.
On the Friday stage, Ogier suffered two tire damages before being recorded as retired after the third special stage (SS 3) with a defective front suspension on his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1. Ogier described the tires as “not up to the standard of a world championship” before explaining in an interview with Motorsport.com, a sister platform of Motorsport-Total.com in the Motorsport Network, that it was “simply a lottery” and “anything but acceptable.”
On Sunday, a few hours after the end of the rally, Ogier published his aforementioned statement. In it, he reveals that he personally apologized to Bin Sulayem and Pena on Saturday evening. Below is Ogier’s statement in full.
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“After an eventful and very well-organized Rally Paraguay, I would like to take the opportunity to publicly apologize for the inappropriate incident yesterday afternoon with FIA President Mohammed Bin Sulayem and Santiago Pena, the President of Paraguay, yesterday afternoon.”
“It was neither the right time nor the right tone in which I expressed my concerns regarding the World Championship. I already had the opportunity to personally apologize to both presidents last night, which was followed by a very constructive conversation.”
“It was indeed a great moment to speak with FIA President Bin Sulayem and address some areas that we all know require attention and improvements in our sport. Together, we set some clear goals, the implementation of which I look forward to with anticipation for a better future of rallying,” said Ogier.
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